A Weekend with Mr. Darcy by Victoria Connelly

pushing the suitcase in her direction as he did so.
    â€˜Ouch!’ Katherine screamed. ‘My foot!’
    â€˜Oh, my God! I’m so sorry,’ the man said, turning around to look at her. ‘Are you okay?’
    â€˜No, I’m not okay. You’ve run over my foot with a two tonne suitcase!’
    â€˜I beg your pardon?’ Mrs Soames said. ‘Oh, it’s you, Dr Roberts.’ There was no trace of concern in her voice for Katherine’s poor foot.
    Katherine bent down to rub her bruised toes.
    â€˜May I help you?’ the man asked, his bright eyes filled with concern.
    â€˜You’re meant to be helping me !’ Mrs Soames said, her mouth set in a firm line.
    â€˜Of course,’ the man said. ‘Look, I’m so sorry. If there’s anything I can do—’
    â€˜Just give me some space,’ Katherine said, wincing as she hobbled away with her own suitcase.
    ***
    Robyn took a deep breath and approached the young girl at the desk.
    â€˜Hello. I’m here for the conference.’
    â€˜What’s your name?’ the girl asked.
    â€˜Robyn. Robyn Love.’
    â€˜Oh! What a gorgeous name!’
    Robyn gave a shy smile. ‘I’m usually told how strange it is.’
    â€˜I’ve met stranger,’ the girl said with a giggle, and Robyn wondered what she meant. ‘You’ve got a welcome pack?’
    â€˜Yes, thank you.’
    The girl looked down at her register. ‘You’re in the cedar room. Up the stairs and turn right. It’s at the end of the corridor.’
    The cedar room, Robyn said to herself. She liked the sound of it.
    â€˜Mark will help you with your bags.’
    Robyn turned and came face to face with a young man who immediately took her suitcase from her.
    â€˜Oh, just a minute, Mark,’ the young girl said. ‘Here’s Dr Roberts. She’s just opposite, in the river room.’
    Robyn turned to see a beautiful woman with dark hair swept up in a severe bun. She was wearing a crisp white shirt and a knee-length black skirt that was pencil-thin over her shapely legs.
    â€˜Hello,’ Dr Roberts said to the girl who handed her a badge. She then turned to smile at Robyn. ‘Please, call me Katherine,’ she said, but then she winced.
    â€˜Are you okay?’ Robyn asked.
    Katherine nodded. ‘Some idiot just wheeled a suitcase right over my foot. I fear I’ll be hobbling the rest of today.’
    â€˜Oh, dear!’ Robyn said. ‘We’ll have to find a handsome Willoughby to carry you up the stairs.’
    Katherine laughed. ‘I think I can make it up myself.’
    Mark picked up Katherine’s suitcase and led the two women up the stairs.
    â€˜Have you travelled far?’ Katherine asked Robyn.
    â€˜North Yorkshire.’
    â€˜A bit farther than me, then. I’ve only come from Oxford.’
    â€˜You’re the lecturer, aren’t you?’ Robyn said excitedly. ‘I’ve read your book!’
    â€˜For pleasure?’
    â€˜Oh, yes!’ Robyn enthused.
    Katherine laughed. ‘I’m forgetting that everyone here enjoys Austen. I lecture at St Bridget’s in Oxford, and I’m afraid the students there aren’t all as enthusiastic about our Jane.’
    â€˜It must be a hard job,’ Robyn said, full of admiration for her new friend.
    â€˜Some of the time,’ she said, ‘but I’m teaching the subject I love and, of course, I get to come to events like this.’
    Robyn nodded. ‘I wish I’d had the chance to go to study. I would have loved it. It’s one of the reasons I like coming to things like this. I learn so much.’
    Katherine smiled. ‘Learning is a lifelong pleasure.’
    The two women climbed the left-hand staircase which joined the right one in the middle and led them up to the first floor where the bedrooms were.
    â€˜This is such an amazing house,’ Robyn said, gazing back down the